


Once Upon a Time in the Reef

by SparkP18



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Awoken Guardian (Destiny) - Freeform, Gen, Hunter Guardian (Destiny), My First Fanfic, Original Character(s), To Be Continued, awoken - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:21:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28581189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparkP18/pseuds/SparkP18
Summary: A new guardian is revived for the first time on the edge of the Reef, unaware of the past lying just behind her. She is, however, very aware of her charismatic Ghost, and a new... ally.A story of Awoken drama, some snarky ghosts, and two useless hunters attempting to save the universe. Doesn't sound too hard, right?My first fic, very much in progress! I hope you enjoy!!Edit: no update this week!! I has gotten the covid lol but I’ll do my best to be back next week or before that!!
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is SparkP, and I'm so happy you've decided to read my first story!! Being a huge fan of Destiny, and with the support of my fireteam, I've decided to put the story of our world into words, and I hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> Disclaimer: although I would definitely consider myself to be obsessed with Destiny far beyond what’s healthy, and I am quite well-versed in lore, I am no goddess. So please forgive any slip-ups, and please let me know in the comments if I wrote something wrong or out of order! Enjoy!! Oh, and this is also my first experience with ao3 formatting, so PLEASE let me know if there's anything wrong. I've heard it can be a bitch.

Chapter One- Reef Rez

“Hmmm… no, no, no, not this one…” the little Ghost mumbles to herself, flitting in and out of the wreckage sprawling in the vacuum of space, unbothered by the lack of anything life-sustaining. The beam from her body washes over wreckage after wreckage, searching for the remains of anything living. Anything at _all_ to suggest that her guardian is out here, at the edge of the Reef, after all this time. “They're around here somewhere, I _know_ it!” The Ghost states softly, doing her best not to lose hope. “I know it…” 

The Reef, all the way at the edge of their solar system, untouched by the sun… this was her last hope. She's been to every planet, every moon, scouring the surface for any sign of the spark of the Traveler’s light that might be her very own. After turning back up at the Tower, year after year, a random guardian she had seen around suggested that she might look in the Reef. _The Reef?_ The Ghost had asked, because she'd never heard of such a place, and she knew just about _everything_ by now. Well, almost everything. The guardian had laughed a little and petted her shell. _Yeah, the Reef,_ they had answered, smiling a little on their shimmering, blue skin. _It's where the Awoken first came from, like me._

Upon hearing about it, the little Ghost knew immediately that's where she should go. She's always known, somehow, that her guardian would be Awoken- a member of the mysterious race, something beyond human- but she had never known where they came from, much less that there was a whole _settlement!_ Or, supposedly. She actually… hadn't seen a single Awoken yet. 

She just- she _knew_ her guardian was here. Somewhere. If she could just get through all this stupid _wreckage-!_

“Hm?” She pauses in the air, shell spinning curiously as she stops in front of the wreckage of a ship that looks to be torn in two, but in no gentle matter, if the scorched and twisted remains of the tear were anything to go by. There's a symbol on the side, and some writing, but it's in no sort of language the Ghost has ever seen. But… she feels the pull, the tug of the Light, leading her to that ship. _I feel my guardian!_ She thinks, her shell flaring out, and excitement starts to take over every other instinct in her little body as she floats into the mess of twisted metal.

“This doesn't… seem to be as old as the others,” she muses aloud, her little beam washing over burnt datapads and long-dark readouts. “The materials,” she notices, curiously floating up to an intact spot in the hull, tilting her plain shell in an inquisitive motion, “they’re fairly modern. Nothing like I've ever seen, though- AAAHH!” 

The little Ghost flies back, shell flaring out in alarm as her light falls on a very close, very _dead_ Awoken staring back at her. Followed by many, _many_ more, all stretched out into the ship in front of her, bodies frozen in the vacuum of space, blank, glassy eyes staring lifelessly past her shell. She shivers, her shell twisting in nervous anticipation as she inches forwards, carefully dodging between the bodies. “Oh, dear Traveler, _ewwww…_ ” 

_I can feel it, though,_ she thinks, trying not to metaphorically retch at the sight in front of her as she follows the pull of the Light, drawing her further and further down into the ship and doing her absolute best not to dwell on her surroundings. _I can feel my guardian!_

“Ooohh, I'm the only one who can create zombies, I'm the only one who…” the Ghost trails off her comforting ( _comforting_ … she thinks sarcastically) mantra as her eye falls on a smaller, female Awoken curled behind a panel in a little alcove of the ship, the light twisting around her, and finally, _finally_ , she knows her search is over. 

_It's… her,_ she thinks breathlessly (or, as breathless as a ghost can get), slowly floating closer to the girl. _My guardian. She looks so… peaceful._

She really does, with the way her pale blue skin nearly sparkles in the light of the Ghost, her round face pulled into a neutral expression in death. Her deep purple hair floats in a halo around her head, once pulled back in some simple Awoken fashion from years ago, now messy and unwoven, secured by a clip on which the Awoken royal symbol could be seen. On her forehead sits what the Ghost assumes to be some traditional Awoken symbol, lines extending over her closed eyelids and onto her cheeks. All in all, a beautiful girl, _but I suppose most Awoken are,_ she muses. _The poor girl, she doesn't look any older than early twenties._

“She looks pretty good! For a dead person, at least,” she chuckles out loud, her synthesized voice coming out a little shaky with excitement. “Oh man, that was probably a weird thing to say right before I revive you. Erm… sorry.” She takes a deep breath, shaking her head a little and steadying herself. “Okay, come on, Ghost, you can _do_ this! This is it. Okay, okay, I can do this! I can do this.” The little Ghost gives a tiny, internal plea of hope to the Traveler before stretching out her shell and filling the Awoken girl with the light of a thousand suns. 

Her guardian’s eyes shoot open, a _bright_ electric blue, and the Ghost puffs up proudly, ready to start explaining. “Hi! Oh, I'm so happy I _found_ you! I-” 

She stops abruptly as her guardian starts flailing around, eyes wide in her newly resurrected skull, both hands clawing at her neck as she panics. The Ghost flares her shell out in alarm, _did I do something wrong, something went wrong, whyisn'tsheRESPONDING!!_ . “Ah!! Oh, I'm so _sorry_ , nobody panic, we can-” 

She feels the light swell around her guardian once more as they go limp, dead, and the little Ghost sighs, wincing. _Right. Vacuum of space._ She flies around the guardian’s head, gently bumping into her cheek and shaking her shell. “Guardian, I'm so sorry! Let's find you some air, and then we can take two…” 

She turns her shell, scanning the shop for anything she could use when her eye falls on a rack of only slightly damaged helmets. Zipping over, she expands her shell a little as she assesses the condition of the long-forgotten helmets. “These’ll do! I've just gotta patch it up a little.” 

After synthesizing the missing components from the materials of the ship, the little Ghost flies back over to her guardian, transmitting the completed helmet onto her head, nerves twinging again with the anticipation of meeting her guardian-- well, properly this time. Taking a steadying breath ( _breath? Do I breathe? I don't, right? I guess I might breathe like, light?_ She muses), she flares out her shell once again, giving life back to her guardian.

The Awoken’s eyes shoot open, wide with surprise as she gasps for breath, gaze darting around wildly until she spots the Ghost hovering excitedly in front of her face. 

“Hi! Oh, thank the Traveler, the helmet _works!_ ” The Ghost exclaims, watching apprehensively as the girl looks down at her hands. She opens and closes them a few times, looks around at all the bodies, and shivers before looking back at her Ghost, a very… _lost_ sort of expression on her face. 

“I… who are you?” She croaks out, rubbing her throat a little from the lack of use and keeping her eyes trained on the robot in front of her. The Ghost flares her shell happily.

“I'm your Ghost! I'm the one who brought you back to life! And killed you, I'm really sorry about that,” she winces, shaking her shell. “But I've been looking for you for a _really_ long time, guardian. I'm so happy I've finally _found you!_ ” She exclaims, spinning with excitement, and her guardian cracks a small smile before flailing a little, trying to catch her bearings in zero gravity. 

“That's… cool, I think? What's a guardian? And who…” she trails off, frowning. “Who am _I_?” 

The Ghost smiles internally, flying closer to the girl and gently bonking her helmet with her shell. “ _You're_ a guardian, a protector of humanity, and something tells me you're gonna make a good Hunter, at that. But I can explain more on that later,” the girl nods, and the Ghost trains her eye on the girl's uniform, where a scorched name tag could barely be made out on her arm. “If you're looking for your name, though, the uniform may be someplace to start?” She suggests, tilting her shell.

Her guardian blinks for a second before looking down at her tunic, seemingly surprised to find the tag. _Oh no, did I pressure her too much?_ “But you don't have to take that name!” She adds quickly, shell twirling anxiously. “You can choose any name you want! I just thought that you might want to look at that, since a lot of guardians don’t know, but it's okay if you-” 

Her guardian’s melodic laugh echoes through the empty space, causing her to abruptly stop rambling as the girl smiles. 

“Don't worry, little Ghost, this name will be good! Some of the letters are damaged, though,” she frowns, struggling to make out the tag in the limited light. The Ghost floats closer, squinting her eye and trying to make it out too. 

“T… T, a, i… there's a lot missing in the middle, hmm…” the Ghost muses as the girl pulls it every which way. 

“T, a, i, and then a bunch missing, and then a j, and an a. Ta… Taija?” The girl finally states, quirking an eyebrow, and the Ghost does the equivalent of a shrug. “Huh. Taija it is!” Taija exclaims happily, looking extremely self-satisfied as the Ghost smiles with her eye and nods in the air.

“Well then, hello, Taija the Awoken Hunter! No last name?” She jokes, and Taija pales, looking extremely worried before the Ghost shakes her shell. “I'm kidding! Kidding. First name was hard enough,” she winks (it was technically a blink, but she seemed to get it), and Taija laughs again, nodding. 

“Thank you, Ghost. So, now that I have a name, I thought I'd ask,” she starts, looking around. “Do you know how I got here? In a ship full of dead people?” 

The little ghost shakes her shell solemnly. “I'm afraid I don't. The light pulled me out here, to this graveyard of ships, and this was all exactly how I found it. Your ship is… significantly _newer_ than the other wrecked ships here, but besides that, I have absolutely no idea.” She twirls, shivering as she spots the nearest dead Awoken. “Guardians, once they're resurrected, have no memories of their life or who they were before. And seeing how I found you? I'm not sure I'd _want_ to know how you ended up out here…” she shakes her shell, turning back to Taija’s inquisitive expression. She nods.

“That's fair. I'm surprised at how well I'm taking being resurrected in a ship full of dead bodies, but honestly, something tells me that's the least weird thing that's going to happen to me today,” she states with a wry smile, and the Ghost laughs. _I think I'm gonna really love this girl._ “Speaking of, though, you're talking like I'm a part of a larger whole. I'm assuming there's things I need to see outside of this wreckage?” She questions, and the Ghost blinks for a second, mentally recalculating, because honestly, _I didn't think I'd get this far, oh shit._

“...oh. Hm. You'd be… correct.” She frowns, shell tilting downwards. “We need to get to Earth, but there's no functional ships out here, not even something I can salvage!” Frustrated, she droops in the air, but jumps when she feels Taija place a comforting hand on her shell. She smiles.

“Hey, don't worry, okay? I may only be a few minutes old, but I know I'm alive for now, and we can find a way out of here. What about another one of these… guardians? Right?” She suggests, and the Ghost shoots back up, shell nodding brightly. 

“Oh, you're right!! I can send out a distress call to other Ghosts who come near this sector! It's not too terribly crowded, so we might have to wait for a little bit before someone answers, but we should still be able to catch someone on their way to the Reef. Hopefully.” She twists a little nervously, because really, what are the chances there's another guardian anywhere _near_ this close to the Reef? But Talia looks so hopeful and content, she lets herself believe that it could happen, just a little bit. _Someone's gonna find us. We're gonna get home, I know it._

“Hey, that's okay! I'm okay with waiting! I've waited being dead for awhile, so what's a little more, right?” She jokes, and the ghost nods in the air, albeit a little nervously as Taija twists herself into a more comfortable zero-gravity position, putting her arms behind her head and grinning. “Besides, it sounds like you've got a lot to explain, little Ghost. We've got nothin’ but time!” 

“You're right,” she nods, praising the Traveler that she got such a _nice_ guardian! “You're right, Taija. Let me put out the call, and then I'll explain everything.” 

The Ghost did put out the distress call then, monitoring it every second of every day, spending seven standard days with her Guardian out in the middle of space, swearing to keep her safe, before she gets a response. 

“Uh, hailing the unknown Ghost near the edges of the Reef, is this some sort of… distress call?” 


	2. The Beautiful Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I can do chapter summaries now? That's cool! 
> 
> Taija and her Ghost escape the confines of space into the care of a tentative ally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second chapter! It's another short one, I've decided that I'll continue to post chapters as I finish them, but my hard deadline will be weekly updates on Sunday! 
> 
> Enjoy :D  
> SparkP

_ “You know I really don't want you to do this.”  _

_ “Oh don't  _ worry _ , V,” the girl flashes her a smile, rich purple hair swinging in a braid as she gathers a few datapads into a bag. “We're gonna be fine! It's only a few days’ trip in peaceful space, there's not much to go wrong.”  _

_ The older woman steps down into the small study, red lips trained into a terse frown as tight as her bun. “There's  _ plenty  _ that could go wrong, but as we both know, you've never listened to me,” she sighs, shaking her head. “You're such a good student, Tai. I still don't understand why you're leaving.”  _

_ The girl smiles, but this time, it was merely the ghost of happiness that flicks across her face instead of the brightness so often found in the light of the young Awoken. “You know why I have to go. You do.” She chokes on her words, swallowing hard. “You always do.”  _

_ She turns, but the scene fades away, fades away into the thick mist, the face of her mentor, her friend, disappearing into the deep tangles of a mind shattered by the light. “You always did…”  _

“Taija? Taija! Wakey wakey my sleepy guardian!” A cheerful voice pesters through the swirling of her subconscious, and she groans, struggling to remember the face holding so much  _ warmth  _ before it leaves with the memory of her dream-- but it's gone, gone like the mist, and who is  _ poking her in the head?  _

“Hhnnmggh… five more minutes…” she mumbles, voice muffled slightly by the inside of her helmet, but she finally squints open her eyes to be affronted with blinding light. “GAH! Geez, okay, I'm up, I'm up!!” 

Her Ghost bobs in the air, seemingly satisfied as Taija blinks a bit, shaking her head from sleep and reorienting her body in the zero-gravity she's gotten used to for what feels like  _ so long  _ now. Her Ghost says it's only been a week, but she calls bull- it's definitely felt like a whole ass  _ eternity. _

“Mm… g’mornin, Ghost.” She gives a smile, and her Ghost gently bonks her shell against her helmet in an affectionate greeting. 

“Good morning, Taija! Although it is currently mid-afternoon on Earth.  _ But,  _ I woke you because I have some good news!!” The little robot is nearly vibrating with excitement, and she pets her shell, nodding for her to continue. “There's a nearby Ghost that answered our distress call, and they should be here within a few minutes!” She exclaims, and Taija grins, her whole body swelling with the excitement that  _ she'd finally be able to meet another guardian! A real, life guardian!  _

“Oh Ghost, that's amazing! I can't wait to go…” she trails off for a second, heart lurching longingly at the words. “To go  _ home _ .” 

Taija doesn't know many things, but she knows that those words feel right, however much apprehension that comes with them. She knows about the Traveler, about the Tower, about the multitude of guardians that reside there. She knows that's where she's supposed to be, learning how to  _ help,  _ how to make a difference. She knows a little bit about being a Hunter, a little bit about how to use the power inside her, what she's come to know as light.

Taija knows a little bit about a lot of things. Seven days is a long time to spend talking, after all. 

But how to be a guardian? How to fit into this grand plan of the Traveler’s? She doesn't know that, not yet. 

It sure gives her excited butterflies to think she might learn, though. 

She looks back at the little Ghost bobbing in front of her, the bright, shining light that's illuminated their days in dark space. The only light of her life. Her only companion, and an unwavering one at that, an unrelenting well of kindness and barely-restrained excitement at even the smallest of things.

Taija smiles, and she can feel the tears pooling in her tired eyes, trailing over her sparkling Awoken skin, but she doesn't mind. Her Ghost immediately flies up, concern etched into her shell as she twirls it around. 

“Taija? Are you alight, what's wrong?” Her worry is clear in the bright robotic voice, and Taija cups her hands around her plain pink shell, pulling her to her chest in a tight hug. 

“Thank you,” she whispers, feeling the Ghost snuggle into her arms with comfort. “Thank you for… everything. I'm okay, little Ghost,” she smiles, wishing she could wipe the tears from her eyes, nodding instead. “I'm okay. Just so happy we're finally getting out of here!” She laughs, and her Ghost relaxes her shell, relieved. “We get to start our adventure! And I wouldn't be anywhere without you,” she winks, and they both laugh, melody mixing with synthetic as it echoes in her ears and through her mind.  _ It's… comforting,  _ she decides, still smiling.  _ Laughing together.  _

“Hello?” 

The sharp, unfamiliar voice on the channel immediately startles them both into silence as a shadow passes in the entrance to the broken ship, slinking inside silently, a light following behind. “Anyone? This is the same channel that signal was on, so I swear to  _ Io _ if you're wasting our time, I'm gonna blow your shell off.” It’s angry voice is slightly robotic and distinctly male, so Taija shares a quick glance with her Ghost as the Ghost nods an affirmation.  _ Okay, so he’s our savior,  _ she thinks, relaxing just a bit.  _ I think.  _

“Oh, come on, Lucien,” a lighter, female voice flows across the channel as they watch the floating light and the shadow look around near the entrance to the torn hull. “They're probably around here somewhere. It's a distress call, remember? Someone is in  _ trouble. _ ” The voice states, and they watch the light ( _ a Ghost, I assume,  _ Taija thinks) roll their eye, causing the body-filled ship to be illuminated in full beam. 

There's a sharp intake of air through the comm as the two pause, taking in the scene. 

“Oh,  _ Traveler, _ ” the female mumbles, but hidden in the bright light of the Ghost, Taija can't see the shadow’s reaction. “That's fuckin’ creepy.” 

“Yeah, and like I said,” the male Ghost deadpans, “whoever you are, you can't call us all the way out here and then fuck off to nowhere! We've got things to  _ do, _ ” he stresses, and Taija blinks a bit in response to his blunt rudeness.  _ Are all other Ghosts like this?  _ She muses, glancing at her own Ghost, who floats slowly over the barrier, revealing herself. Taija guesses that would be her cue, and she follows, raising her helmet above the barrier just enough to fully face the newcomers with wide eyes. 

The light from the other Ghost is still bright, but as he moves aside, the shadow floats over, revealing herself and looking down at the pair with what Taija assumes is probably a curious face. She has absolutely no idea, though, with the helmet. 

Although she still has a limited knowledge of this world, Taija immediately recognizes the woman as a Hunter due to the trademark hooded cloak floating lazily behind her, something her Ghost had stressed to be the pride and joy of Hunters, no matter where they came from or who they were. 

“Hello,” the woman supplies, sounding reserved, but not cold, extending a hand out to Taija. “I assume you were the ones who put out the distress signal?” 

“We are!” Her Ghost bobs in the air, nodding as she flies up to meet the Hunter’s helmet. “I found my guardian here, but we had no resources to contact anyone or go anywhere. I can't thank you enough for responding!” She nods her shell towards Taija, and she feels a blush creep onto her cheeks, visible through the clear shield of her helmet, suddenly embarrassed in the presence of a  _ real guardian.  _ And a  _ Hunter,  _ no less!  _ I'm gonna make a fool of myself,  _ she mentally groans, taking the hand offered to her and letting the Hunter help her into a more visible position. 

The Hunter nods. “It's no problem.”

“Despite us having  _ much  _ better things to do, yeah, it's  _ no problem, _ ” her Ghost ( _ Lucien _ , Taija remembers), grumbles, and she watches her Ghost narrow her eye a little bit, floating closer to Lucien. 

“Hey! I know you…” she twirls her shell, advancing curiously, and Luci glances at his Hunter in a distinctly “ _ are you kidding me? _ ” kind of way. She shrugs back. “You're… hm. OH!” Her Ghost suddenly exclaims, and Lucien jumps back, startled. “ _ You're  _ that Ghost with the edgy shell!! The one I hung around before you got your guardian!” 

“Oh you've gotta be  _ fuckin  _ kidding me,” he mumbles, “ _ you're  _ fairy floss? The annoying pink one? The  _ hyperactive  _ pink one?” 

“In the shell!” She spins proudly, and Taija couldn't help but laugh at her Ghost’s antics as Lucien gives a loud groan. “Although I would prefer a better name than ‘fairy floss’, if you don't mind,” she inclines her shell to her guardian, and Taija nods, giggling. 

“Lahri, we have to go, I am  _ not  _ sharing a ship with her, guardian or not.” He turns to his guardian, and she just sighs, shaking her head.

“Hm. I never caught your name,” she hums noncommittally at her Ghost before turning towards Taija, nodding politely. 

She blinks for a second, stammering, wondering how she suddenly managed how to forget her own name in the spotlight of the Hunter’s attention. 

“Um, it's, uh, Taija.” She stumbles out, pointing meekly to the patch on her shoulder, and the Hunter chuckles softly, the first sliver of emotion she's shown since meeting the pair.

“It's nice to meet you, Taija. My name’s Lahri--

“--and I'm Lucien.” The Ghost cuts her off, turning his light onto Taija for the first time, looking her over, and she couldn't help but feel like he was judging her somehow. “ _ Pleasure.”  _

She was suddenly very self-conscious about her small frame and lack of armor, lack of  _ anything _ , really, to protect herself from his harsh gaze. 

Her Ghost rolls her eye, sensing her discomfort and sending Lucien an unamused twirl. 

“Don't worry, Taija, he's always been like that,” she states, earning a small ‘ _ hmph’  _ from Lucien and another small chuckle from his guardian.

“Fuck off, fairy floss.”

“I assume you two need a ride to the Tower, is that right?” The Hunter ( _ Lahri!  _ Taija thinks happily) asks tentatively, and the Awoken doesn't miss the small, fleeting glance thrown in Lucien’s direction as she speaks.  _ Almost like she's weary of him,  _ she notes, giving a mental shrug.  _ Well, he did say they had things to do.  _

Her Ghost spins in the air, giving a nod to Lahri, returning to her previously respectful tone. “We do! It would be really nice to get back to Earth and start Vanguard training,” she states, and the Hunter nods once again, largely ignoring the pointed scoff of her spiky Ghost. 

“Then we should get a move-on. We are, unfortunately, on a mission, but it'll be no problem to drop you both at the Tower.” Lahri nods towards Tai again before glancing behind her shoulder. “My ship is just outside. Ready for transmat?”

_ Transmat? Oh, that sounds interesting,  _ Taija thinks, opening her mouth. “Transmat? What's tha-” 

She's cut off by the sudden, jarring feeling of every atom in her body simultaneously being jerked into a place they  _ were not  _ before. In the blink of an eye, she feels her booted feet touch down on a solid surface, immediately stumbling to the ground as artificial gravity affects her body for the first time in her very short life. 

Her Ghost materializes into existence beside her, and immediately flies to her side, radiating worry. 

“Taija! Hey, what's wrong? Are you alright? Hurt?” She rattles off, twirling anxiously, and Taija just shakes her head a little to reorient herself, nodding. 

“Yeah, yeah. I'm… I’m good,” she blinks at her worried little light, grinning. “I'd like to know why I’m on the floor, though. Something tells me this is gravity?” 

Her Ghost sighs in relief, nodding quickly. “Yes! So sorry I didn't think to warn you, I forgot you've never experienced it! Most guardian ships are calibrated to simulate Earth’s gravitational pull, but it can be customized,” she explains, and the Awoken nods, slowly standing up and testing her weight. 

She waves her arms a bit before shifting from foot to foot, getting used to the feeling with a wide, curious smile. “Whoa.  _ Weird! _ ” She tries a little jump, landing unsteadily, when she finally notices Lahri watching her from near the cockpit-- she stops, immediately blushing and regaining her balance. 

The Hunter truly laughs this time, but it wasn't a mocking laugh. Just a simple laugh that seemed to convey a small, important message;  _ I've been where you are, and I understand.  _

“Sorry, guess I should've given more of a warning,” she tilts her head, rubbing at her gauntlet, and Taija quickly puts up her hands, shaking her head.

“No, no, you were totally fine! This is really interesting!” She exclaims, and the Hunter relaxes a little, nodding and making a small movement with her hand. Her helmet immediately unfolds from around her face, disappearing, and she turns to her Ghost. 

Unfortunately, Taija didn't hear a single word of what she said, because  _ wow. W-o-w.  _

_ She's… beautiful,  _ she thinks, watching the sharp yet delicate contours of her face as she speaks, caramel-colored cheeks tinted slightly with rose from the cold. Loose pieces of rich, dark-chocolate hair slip into her face as a long braid spills from her helmet onto her back, unraveled a little from the confines of her helmet, matching her nearly-identical deep brown eyes, and Taija  _ really _ felt like the breath had been knocked right out of her stricken Awoken lungs as the Human reaches to tuck a few stray strands of hair behind her ears.  _ Are all humans this… this  _ stunning _? _

“ _ Oh wow, _ ” she breathes, and Lahri turns at the sound, almond eyes trained on her curiously.

“Hm?” She questions, and Taija blushes even deeper, suddenly aware she said that out loud. 

“Oh, uh. Nothing. I'm good!” She stammers, and Lahri gives a slightly amused look.

“You can take the helmet off now, if you'd like. It's safe in here, and Lucien just started us on the route to Earth,” she supplies helpfully, and Taija nods quickly, pulling her hands up to try and pry the helmet off of her head. 

She struggles for a few seconds before giving up and looking to her amused Ghost, panting slightly. “A little  _ help _ here?” 

She floats over, shell tilted in a smile. “All you've got to do is tell me to take it off, and I'll place the blueprint in your inventory,” she replies helpfully, displaying a small projection of her currently empty inventory. “Eventually, you'll be able to do all of this without speaking, but it's sometimes helpful for new lights to speak what they want aloud.” 

Taija thinks back to the small hand motion Lahri had made, and nods in understanding.

“Alright! But next time, tell me  _ before  _ I make a fool of myself,” she mumbles quietly, giving a fleeting glance towards Lahri, and her Ghost seems to stifle a bit of laughter before nodding back. “Helmet… off? Please?” 

A strange feeling passes over her head before the helmet starts to dematerialize around her, and she has to focus to not panic at the sudden feeling.  _ We're not in space,  _ she reminds herself, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.  _ We're safe.  _

“We're safe, Taija,” Her Ghost reassures comfortingly as she opens her eyes, taking her Ghost in for the first time without a pane of glass between them. She floats closer, close enough to touch her forehead gently, and she couldn't help but give a huge smile at the feeling, grinning as she brings her hands to her face. 

It felt… odd, she has to admit, feeling her own skin with her hands for the first time,  _ but it feels right.  _ She tucks her disheveled hair behind her ear, marveling at the softness of it. 

“This is so  _ cool! _ ” She exclaims in wonder, and everyone laughs then, watching her get so overjoyed at some of the simplest things in life, the musical laugh of Lahri’s mixing with the chirping laugh of her Ghost, and she  _ loves  _ it.  _ I never want it to stop,  _ she thinks, smiling at Lahri’s joy, however reserved. 

Lahri’s smile falls as she looks out the viewport, however, replaced by a small sigh as Lucien says something Taija can't hear. 

“The trip to Earth should only take about a day, so you can make yourselves comfortable,” Lahri offers, gesturing around at the small hold of the ship, furnished sparingly with what looks like resources and other various useful-looking objects, but a small pile of plush looking objects and blankets rest in the corner. “Sorry it's not too much. I'm going to join Lucien for a little bit, but I'll be back soon,” she sends Taija a small smile before disappearing into the cockpit, leaving the two alone in the small room before she could respond. 

Her Ghost floats up to her, and Taija takes her in her hands absentmindedly, giving her shell a little pat as she glances towards the blankets, suddenly grateful for the brief opportunity to relax and regain her bearings in this strange new world. 

“Blanket time?” Her Ghost asks hopefully, nestling contently into her hands, and she grins, nodding.

“It is Blanket time, my adorable friend. We've got a lot to think about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thank you so much for reading through the second chapter, and please give me feedback in the comments! I hope you all enjoyed the appearance of Lahri and her asshole Ghost, Luci ;D
> 
> It's okay, I promise he gets better.
> 
> Ghosty gets a name next chapter, so stay tuned !!
> 
> Side note, does anyone know how to get images into a chapter? I'm an artist, and I've been drawing little things to go with each chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Aah, finally one chapter done! If anyone who reads this enjoys it, please let me know!! It'll give me much more motivation to keep writing :)) If anyone does end up reading this, and enjoying it, I'll post another chapter this week! Just let me know in the comments, and thank you so much for taking your time to give my work a chance :D!


End file.
